These Photos of the Milky Way are Like None You’ve Ever Seen Before

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Ed MacKerrow / Used With Permission

Photos of the Milky Way are a dime a dozen, but every once in awhile you come across a collection of images that totally blows your mind.

This is one such collection!

There’s just something about a photo of the Milky Way that makes you realize how small our place in the universe really is. With millions of stars shining down on you and the expanse of our galaxy stretching across the sky, it’s hard not to be humbled about the size and significance of all that’s beyond our little planet. Astrophotography is a complex undertaking, but man, when it all goes right and you’re able to document such incredible beauty, all the long nights and effort are totally worth it!

If you want to learn how to take photos like these, check out the incredible learning opportunities held each year at the Friends of the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Located in San Antonio, New Mexico, the refuge is the ideal place for taking stunning pictures of the Milky Way. Wide open spaces, very little light pollution, and clear, crisp nights are the perfect recipe for jaw-dropping photos. An abundance of satellite dishes adds some extraterrestrial flair to the images you take there as well.

The best part is that the refuge also holds an annual Festival of the Cranes that is a bird photographer’s dream event! The Festival brings together bird experts and photography enthusiasts for day after day of learning about bird behavior and photography techniques, photography expos, photography outings, and so much more.

Learn how to create breathtaking images of birds by day, then venture out at night to take stunning images of the sky by joining the Friends of the Bosque November 15-20, 2016 for the Festival of the Cranes. If you need any motivation to go, just have a look at the amazing images below!